May 28, 2008

Well....3 day long weekend went well over here, shopped a bit, watched few movies and relaxed enough to read a book since hubby was on call and had to work in the weekend but was free on Monday. We did some gardening too, made herb pot or two, sowed few Ridge gourd, Snake gourd and Bottle gourds seeds since weather is lot warmer now. Snake and Ridge gourds failed miserably to fruit last year but did get plenty of bottle gourds. Hopefully, this year there will be a flood of all the veggies in August like last year! :))

Alrighty, now back to business!

I made few Cinnarolls last week for us. These almost taste like soft Cinnabons we get here, filled with sweet Cinnamon-brown sugar but without the cream frosting slathered on them, just sprinkled with powdered sugar. The very best Makara sweet and fragrant Cinnamon pd used in making original Cinnabons is available for purchase here.These Cinnarolls are also called "Kaffekrans" in Norway, which means "Cinnamon coffee ring", rolls are baked in ring shape, drizzled with 2 tbsp hot coffee mixed with powdered sugar on top. I didn't use coffee frosting since kids don't like the coffee flavor.Sweet Cinnamon we use in these desserts is not the same as spicy Indian Cinnamon/Dalchini we Indians use for gravy dishes. These Cinnarolls are also rolled, flavored and shaped like ears, hence the name "Cinnaroll ears", somewhat like these Elephant ears I have made before! My son desperately wanted these Cinnarolls smothered with loads of cream cheese frosting like they serve in "Cinnabon", may be next time! :D

Ooey gooey Cinnaroll ear!This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbook authors Beatrice Ojakangas's Scandinavian cookery book, which I love. She is a resident of Minnesota with Scandinavian heritage and has written many cookbooks with dishes as her grandmother would make in Scandinavia! Her recipes are so authentic, scrumptious and homely that I have made many desserts from her books. Enjoy these for a delicious weekend breakfast or brunch or for anytime dessert! :)

Melissa from "baking a sweet life" is hosting this month's "Baking bread day #10" with a delicious sweet theme of "breakfast breads". Bread baking day event is started by Zorra from "kochtopf" blog. I am sending a soft, buttery sweet Cinnarolls flavored with brown sugar and cinnamon to her. Enjoy and thanks for hosting Melissa!:)

Step by step photos to make Cinnaroll ears:If you don't like Cinnamon flavor, you can replace it with good quality Vanilla essence. Enjoy! :)

You need:Yeast mix:1 packet(1/4 oz) active dry Yeast,1 tsp Sugar,1/4 cup warm water (110F),Other ingredients:1 cup milk, heated and cooled,1/4 cup melted Butter,1/3 cup white (fine grained) sugar,1 1/2 tsp salt,2 1/2 cups to 3 cups of Plain flour(as much as need to make a soft dough)For filling:1/4 cup softened butter,1/2 cup dark or light brown sugar,1 tbsp sweet Cinnamon powder (or 1 tsp Vanilla essence)To sprinkle or glaze:About 1/2 cup powdered sugar or as much as you need to sprinkle on cooled Cinnaroll ears.Optional; Add 2 tbsp coffee to mix with sugar pd to squeeze on the rolls, if you like coffee flavor or just powdered sugar, dry or mixed with 1-2tbsp hot milk.To bake these:1. Mix yeast, sugar, warm water in a small bowl and leave it for 5 mins.2. In a large bowl or in stand mixer bowl, add yeast mix, milk, butter, white sugar, salt and 1 cup of flour (out of about 3 cups) and mix these well until smooth.3. Gradually add 1 1/2 cup of flour to it and mix well with a flat beater or by hand. Add 1 tbsp flour at a time and keep mixing until you get a soft dough, no need to knead the dough. Don't have to add all of the flour if not needed.4. Cover the bowl and let it rise for 1 hr or until doubled in a warm place or inside the unheated oven.Filling: Mix soft butter, brown sugar and Cinnamon pd well, divide roughly in to two portions and keep aside for filling later.5. Punch down the risen dough, divide into half. Roll one portion out to a 12" by 8" rectangle. Spread half of the filling evenly 1/2" away from the edges on the rolled dough.6. From a longer side(12") roll the dough to a tight swiss roll, repeat with other dough. Cut these into 2-3" thick rolls and with the handle of the wooden spoon or with your finger, press in the middle as shown below to shape like ears.7. Place them on the baking sheet,cover lightly and let them rise again for 30 mins. Glaze the top with Egg+water mix if you like but it's optional.

Bake them in the preheated oven at 350F for about 12 to 15mins or until the tops are golden. Do not overbake!

8.Cool them on the rack and sprinkle with just powdered sugar to serve or drizzle the 1 tbsp coffee+powdered sugar icing on them after they are cooled.

Cinnarolls freeze very well in an airtight bag for reheating in the MW any time!:)How to shape the Cinnaroll ear before baking:Do not cut the dough in the middlebut gently press with the back of the dinner knife or even better, handle of a wooden spoon/ladle or finger just to make a indentation through the dough. It will puff after baking, slightly getting a shape of a ear.

To make Coffee ring/Kaffekrans,If you want to make a Coffee ring/Kaffekrans, roll the whole risen dough to a 18" by 12" rectangle, fill with all the sugar+butter mix, swiss roll and cut slashes 2" apart. Place this on the bottom of a Bundt cake pan or on a baking sheet, glaze with 1 egg+1 tsp water mix for color and bake at 350F for 30-40mins. Cool on rack and drizzle on the coffee icing on top!

Another yummy look!If you want to make the cream cheese frosting to drizzle on top while Cinnarolls are still slightly warm; Take about 3/4 cup of plain cream cheese, softened, 1/4 cup butter, softened, 1 cup or more powdered sugar or to your taste, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence or any flavor you like and a pinch of salt. Blend all these well until it's creamy, chill in the fridge until you need it.

Updated with Cream cheese frosting on top!

and signing out! Hope you make some of these. I am very very sure your family will thank you!!:D

*********************************************************************************************Book I read:"A Simple Plan" by Scott Smith.It's a thriller, feels like you are reading a great thriller movie like Mystic River, very very interesting and I highly recommend it for Summer read at the beach or something. It's one of those books once you pick up, you just don't want to put it down even for few mins!It all starts with two brothers and their friend on the way to visit their dad's grave, only to find a crashed plane in the woods with pilot dead and a HUGE bag full of money; $4.8million to be exact! What happens after that is gripping and unbelievable, with 8 murders to cover up one and a shocking, sobering end. Get the book from the library, PLEASE!!! ;D

Movies I watched:Watched Chocolat again, loved it.A off beat Bollywood movie called "Cyrus", has Saif Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Neseeruddin Shah etc. It was okay and movie is in English, not Hindi, probably made for Western audience like "East is East", "Bend it like Beckam" etc.!!Latest Indiana Jones, of course! Aliens and flying saucer is little disappointing, could have done without the silliness but action is non-stop, we liked it! :)

Dishes I tried last week:Now, before you look at these dishes you must imagine me cooking all these with my left index finger up in the air, which was sprained and bandaged last week, now healed very well! Hahaha!!! My thanks to all these bloggers for these yummy dishes! :)Exquisite eggplant from Uma's blog.Tomato Rice form Manasi's blog.Irani Baida Curry from Meera's blog.Tawa Naan from Aparna's blog.Thalagamfrom Nandita's Blog.Khara Biscuits from Namratha's blog.(added almost 2 cups of flour)

Lastly, Uma and Meera gave me a new award (photo on the sidebar) "Good Chat Blog Award". What a fun award, eh? Thank you Uma and Meera, I appreciate and accept it. Yes! I am chatty, a bit too much sometimes! :D

I would like to pass this "Good chat blog" award to Poornima who is always ready to chat with me and to Swati Raman Garg who was a 100th commenter in my last post and a chatterbox herself! :))

Lakshmi of "The YUM blog" sent a "A Giant Bear hug" award to me which you can see on the side bar. Thanks L, a big mama Bear hug back to you too! I am also hugging other Lakshmi G of "Taste of Mysore", enjoy the Bear hug award from me, my dear Mysore sistah! :D

My sincere thanks to Suma Rajesh, Kamala, Ranji, Rahin, Mythreyee,Trupti, Sangeeth, Divya, Sukanya, Purnima and others (if I had forgotten any of you to list here!) for giving me their various awards last week as well, I have added all of you in my sidebar! :)

the cinnamon kaffekrans look yummy ashaji.. I always wondered how do they get that cute shape.. now I know how! .. even I love the movie Choclat.. and can watch zillion times.. :) and will try to get the book from our public library.. take and care. Have a great day ahead!

what a fun post asha....loved reading through it and what a wonderful looking bread...wish we lived closer. I would've happily made you cook us all these lovely things!...hehehe...looking forward to see how your pots come out..was amazed at last years crop ...

was laughing on that good chat blog and on swati..such a sweet girl!..hheheh...

just taking little time off and doing blog hopping today. its been ages since i got time to do it. donno when i'll be able to do it next:( miss chatting with u as we used to do b4.planning to bake chelsea bun this weekend, that too if i get time. k is leaving me all alone on a business trip next week(can u belive one full week!!!)will catch u later ashakka :)

F, new Indy was much awaited movie, was great except that alien thing which disappointed me a little! Hope you see that movie soon!:))

Swati, from 100th to 2nd! Hurray! That's what I call improvement! Hahaha! Enjoy the award Chatterbox. E mail is at the profile. I usually check mails on the weekends when I get time!:))

LOL! It's true Indo! Because I blog just 3 days now, I have about 80 blogs to surf and comment every other day, so I start very early so I get time to cook later! Sweet Cinnabon Cinnamon is wonderful, try once. Book is very interesting, hope you you read it!:)

Rachel, that's great. Post it, more the better. There are so many variations of the same, it's wonderful.Enjoy!:))

Siri, isn't that shape great? I loved it too. Easy to make and will be all gone withing 2 days even without kids around!:DGet that book, you will love it! Have a great week.

Sri, I can't wait to get some Ridge and snake gourds this year. Last year it grew but didn't give me any veggies, so this year I planted in a huge pot with a big hole at the bottom so roots gets into the ground, keeping my fingers crossed!:)Yeah, your kids would love that Cinnaroll girl, mine ate them for breakfast, lunch and dinner!:PGirls like Sawti are so cheerful and I love cheerful people, makes me smile. You are like me too, make me smile as well, hugs!:)

Chris, do try these rolls and of course makes a great dessert with coffee or after brunch on weekends or after dinner too. That's when we have these usually. For this event I had to say breakfast! Shh..!!;D

Hi Sia, yup! I need help in watering the plants, deal! :DI was wondering about that too. You are missing in action at FH and Aroma too for so long. One week alone! Bummer! Well. you can cook and comment whenever you can. I made something for your MBP y'day, will post on Friday. Enjoy your Chelsey buns too!:)

Asha, the fancy name n the fancy rolls look great, collage is pretty!Yeah, I know I do yap! You r lucky not to get me on messenger/google though ;) I try to keep it short, but longer it gets!! Tks n I take the award happily!

Kamala, that's great idea. Toast and cereals in the morning is the way to go for us, these rolls are for special breakfast in the weekends, something sweet for weekend mornings. You can make smaller ones too, cutting the roll to just 1" wide. Enjoy!:)

LOL!! Purni, I used to keep it it open at messenger too and then every time I go there I ended up chatting for hrs. It was hard to get off and start cooking lunch and dinner for the family! Now, I keep it off and get off of that as soon as I am done. I get to chat here which is more than enough!! HeHe! Enjoy the award!:))

Hi Asha...Cinnamon Roll is my fav. Love to have it any time a day. Watched so many movies!... Great!... We also happened to see Indiana Jones last weekend. Another quick question... Can I reduce the measurement of cinnamon roll into half? Always little conscious abt yest recipes.....

Drooling at the rolls, and its my bfast time :)..Went back and kept looking at your variuos plants and harvest from August. I have put in a few seeds this year, hoping to get atleast something :D..Congrats an all your awards Asha and lovely array of dishes from oter blogs. I saw Cyrus too, agree, it was just OK types.

My husband just loves those cinnabon rolls and like your son, will desperately want cream cheese icing on top! :) Looks great and you make it sound easy too. Congrats on your awards .. :) Enjoy them. That book sounds pretty interesting.. i will look for it in our library... The not putting down part is a bit worrisome, i'm generally like that and i find it disrupts normal life when I read a book :)

Sukanya, you can cut the whole recipe into half to try, not a problem.Make sure yeast is not out of date, that's all. Yeast is essential to make it soft and tender, can't halve just the yeast in the recipe though!:)

Bha, look at the posts with my veggie patch, you will find 2 links with websites where you can get those gourd seeds. I don't get gourds here at all unless we drive to nearby city to a Indian store. Plant now on the ground, you will get them by July or August!:)

Maya, bake some girl!:))Cyrus; what a "trying to be cool" bad mouthed Saif character, huh? I hate when they disrespect women and call them names! NEVER cool!!Good luck with your plants, thy are like children to me until Fall!:D

tbc, skip the Cinnamon and add a good quality Vanilla essence, equally good or may be even better!HeHe! I can imagine your hubby dragging his feet. Poor guy! Arvind just disappears in any store to be all by himself(good for me, not complaining at all!) and I have to call him on the cell to get to the check out!:D

Laavanya, I will have to make frosting too next time, son is begging already! It is easy to make except little rolling and cutting involved, not bad at all, worth the effort.Yeah, me too! I even took it to the bathroom, don't ask! Hahaha!! It's that good,gets you curious.I resisted reading the last page until the end!:P

Mansi, kids went to Iron Man last week, said it's really good. Indy was great too, looking at him again after so many yrs!:DWe love Cinnabons, I don't think we get that exact taste like Cinnabon but not bad at all to make at home and pig out!:DHope you read that book, as good as watching thriller movie!:)

Thanks Hetal, hope you try this at home girl. It's soft and tender, great with coffee too!:)

Wow, those cinnmon rolls are just too lovely, asha! Congrats on all the awards! LOL at the chatterbox thingy! I like your chatting very much dear! It makes my day all the time! Thank you so much for trying out my eggplant curry, hope you liked it.

Uma, thank you for your Eggplant dish girl, it was really yummy. Simple and delcious.I love eggplant dishes,always looking for one!:)Chatting is fun, wish I had more time to do it!:D

Swati, most Indians do not know about this sweet Cinnamon unless they have tasted it.It's really has sweetish smell and delcious in desserts.Don't know whether you get it there, it looks like curled and light brown Dalchini but sweeter smell than spicy, look at photo I have linked!:)Can't wait for the veggie plants to grow!

Kay, exactly! See how a mocha Latte taste great with cinnamon sprinkled on it even though we don't think it would! Try and bake with it too or skip it and use Vanilla!:)Yeah, cant wait to get to August, hopefully this year I will get my Ridge and Snake gourd bounty too!:D

sra, try one of her recipes girl! Her recipes are simple to read and so authentic Scandinavian style taste. I have about 4 books of her's, I love each one of them. I made a Yogurt Strawberry Pie for an event @ Aroma last year, it was delicious. Hope you try!:)

You are welcome Shilpa. Matki Pulao is so nutritious as well, great for lunch, tastes better after few hrs of sitting in the box too! Hope you try this roll for brunch this weekend!:)

Those cinnaroll ears look so cute, I am up for it, send some over will you ;-)

BTW have you read Anne Tyler, I have a feeling you will like her. Try Digging To America or Patchwork Planet. i wanted to read Daughters of Kerala after your review but my lib is not much on desi authors

they look just so fabulous....though i dont usually prefer having these seet treats for breakfast your looks so tempting...i too planted some herb pots and hoping to see them coming to frution...but yesterday the temperature dropped drastically and i had to rush to cover those pots up....

Looks delish and yummy! I never even dreamed of making this myself. I have always eaten this at MacD's. Watched the Indiana Jones latest movie?Gosh! that is on my list too, but Harrison Ford has become too old now for my liking :-)

Sandeepa, Cinnarolls coming thru'!:DAnn Tyler; I will try and get it in the library,will be off in July for 2-3 weeks, need those interesting books to read!:)I am cooking something from very Bengali your blog today, will link next week!

NP, Cinnarolls are great anytime, this event is for breakfast breads only, so got to say it!:DYeah, here too, temp went down to 50s! Weird! But I left the Herb pot on the deck anyway! Hope you post the pics, love to see what to have in your pot!:))

Good idea SSM! I am loving cooking from other blogs too these days, appreciate the new tastes. Yeah, brown sugar, butter and Cinnamon makes a great goo! :D

Gattina, you are way better baker than me girl. Usually, I tend to cut down sugar and change a little in all the recipes!:DJohny Depp is always cool!:)

Raaga, I have to make them again, son is pestering me! :DHope so too sweetie, love Heerekai and Padavalkai as we say in Kannada,love to have them as many as I can, finger crossed!

RC, hope you try this, not that hard at all and you can freeze them too if there are too many, your son will love them looking at the reaction of my own older kids!:DHF is in 70s now! Can't believe it but when he smiles crookedly, he is like a adorable grandpa Indy! HeHe! He has still got it!:)

Kids Suganya! :DWithin 3 days, they were all gone girl, I got 2 of them, that's all! Man, making me get up and bake some more now!:)

LOL! DB, did he have to drag you there? I was waiting for all that old Indy's action stuff!;DMovie is not bad, eh? some silliness but entertaining. Yeah, now he has to return the favor, drag him to see Jhatak Matak bollywood one now, I am sure he love it too!HeeHee!

HC, that's true! But we got a shock about the price hike of tickets and popcorn too at movie theater! They all have gone up about $1 each now. It costs $60 for 4 to go to movie these days! Sad!!Atleast we got to see Indy again,we liked it. I don't think there will be another Indiana Jones with HF!

Hi Keshi, yeah, it's best at 4pm with coffee or for brunch on the weekend, freezes well, so can have it anytime!:)

You know Asha, I was just thinking of Cinnabuns this afternoon, and was hoping I'll locate a recipe that doesn't ask for eggs...and here I find yours just a few hours later! Bookmarking this and will keep you posted...hope you liked the Thalagam...

60$ for a family of four movie outing is a hell of a lot...lately Bollywood has been churning out so much crap, that we think ten times before heading to a theatre.

Hey Jaya, I was just in your blog looking for a dish to make, will link next week! Thanks, hope you try the Naana and Cinnarolls!:)

Aparna, your Tawa Naan were easy and soft just as you said, loved it, thanks.I hope my ridge gourd will yield this year!:)

N, I was going to visit and leave a comment for you at Thalagam. It was excellent and very very new taste to me. I felt like I was in Iyengar home, eating their scrumptious food in their kitchen.Thank you so much for posting it!:)Yeah, I get to see the snippets of Bollywood movies here too in B4U, those horrible "item number" dances!!:DHere, more than the movie tickets, it's the popcorn, slushies,candies etc which do us in! Kids!!! They eat the minute you get in the theater even if they are not hungry anyway!:P

Those cinnarolls look so good! I've been meaning to bake some soon. Oh and I love the movie "Chocolat!" I want to buy the DVD and read the new book, which is the sequel. It's called "The Girl With No Shadow."

cinnarolls look so good.How do u guys stay in shape when u guys eat such yummy treats?Will surely check out the books from Beatrice.I like to bake but it scares me a little so each time I keep procrastinating.

Sagari, do exactly as I say here and do not bake until they are very dark on top. Even after they come out of the oven, they keep baking, so take them out a bit early.Another trick to avoid burning the bottom of the rolls is to keep another baking pan underneath the pan with rolls, double layer keeps the rolls from baking too much, might have bake a bit longer than given time but watch them carefully and take them out once they golden color.Good luck!:)

Anali, hope you try these rolls!:)Oh, that's interesting about the sequel of Chocolat, didn't know that. I will check, thanks!:)

ME? WHAT SHAPE?! BOTTLE GOURD? HAHAHA!!!Neema, baking is a skill we will learn after making many mistakes. I did too at the beginning. Once you learn the tricks of the trade, you will love baking! Don't forget to jog after eating a roll!;D

LOL! Bee, that was fast! Glad you are outta "there" girl. Yeah, some Rum and vanilla would replace Cinnamon nicely! I checked my mail y'day, didn't see any from you, will check the spam folder now. Good to see ya here again!:D

Cinnabons are a bit too sweet for me, maybe its the smell of cinnamon that puts me off.... maybe a rose flavour would be nice... I'm having guests over from tomorrow for a week, then maybe I'll have to rest after cooking for 10 people everyday!!!

J, it's the thick frosting puts me off, just sprikling the sugar on top is great for me. Yeah, Rose water or Orange flower water would be great too. We love Makara Cinnamon, only available from Cinnabon stores!:)Cooking for 10 guests everyday for a week! OY!! That is hard, hope they help out and go back quickly. Hugs to you. Yeah, you need to rest for 2 weeks after all that!

Ashakka, I bet I have never left FH and Aroma without drooling over those dishes you present to us. How I wish I could have been your neighbour. Thanks a lot for that big bear hug! hugs to you too, my dear sis!

Susan they do make a morning very special! :)Yes, Dalchini is flat bark with spicy taste, very different from the sweet Cinnamon we use for dessert here in US.They are not interchangeable in dishes either!:)

LG, enjoy! You are a sweet girl, drool or not! Hahaha!:)

Thank you Madhavi. Good to see you girl, will check ASAP!:))

Oats are great for everyday breakfast, keeps your Heart healthy Kate! For a very special occasion, these are okay to have. Enjoy both! Hugs to you!:))

Laksmi, can you imagine having this with hot coffee on Sunday morning? Divine!! Hope you try since it doesn't include eggs at all.Yeah, Wheat bread is basic, you can make sweet, fruity or sweet too. Enjoy!:))

Anu, if you are a fan of other Indy movies, you will love it although the story is little silly. I loved the non-stop action and funny at times too!:)

My kids do that too Shaheen ie get extra little tub of icing with Cinnabons!:DI start the gardening early since heat comes early here. It's hard work to maintain it, so I understand. Have a relaxing Sunday, see you later!:))

First time here Asha,i love the spread of your recipes. Will keep an eye for your updates. Cinnarolls look yummo. The last time I had some were at Ikea last year and I was too cloyed. I will definetly give your recipe a try-Aparnahttp://threemangoes.blogspot.com/

I came back from my disney vacation yesterday and now just looking and drooling at your blog. The cinnaroll looks perfect and a treat to the sweet tooth. Wonderful recipe that is vegetarian. Thanks a lot Asha. I tried the benne biscuit and it came out really well. Thanks.

hey asha akka, as usual your recipe looks delicious n' I so want to have the rolls now!!Just had one question though...how many rolls do these recipes make??since there's only the two of us at home I don't want to end up making too much.thanx.

HI Myth, great to see you. Hope you enjoyed the Disney World.We are going there in Dec!:)Yeah, this is a great dessert for vegetarians, tastes fabulous, hope you try. I will see you tomorrow, few doc's appointments to keep today!:)

Hello Diva, glad you liked it. How many rolls you can make depends on how big you cut them but approximately it makes about 12. You can cut the recoe into half but it's better to make the full recipe anf freeze half of them for later. They freeze very well and reheat in the Microwave and ten frost. Give it a try. You can also just cut swiss rolls about 2" apart and bake them keeping the swirls facing up. You don't have to make the ears! Enjoy!:)

Hi Mahesh, good to see you. Hope you try these for kids, they will love it. I had to make some more again with frosting this time, son whined and whined for them lat weekend!:DI just came home from a eye appointment, taking it easy today. See you tomorrow morning!:))

May 28!?? How did I miss this!? I must be getting old. My mom used to make cin. rolls sometimes, or sticky buns with melted brown sugar and pecans. These look so easy, maybe I'll give it a try too. Unless you're willing to send me a package fresh-baked, that is! ;)

hello,my name is deepa.iam staying in london.i created my blog account recently,can u tell me how to include others.i saw many recipes and ur blog.i love all ur recipes.i also wanted to join ur blog.but it not possible.can mail me backbyedeepa

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